A message from FeldCare CEO, Randi Peled
The home health industry provides comprehensive care across diverse age groups, abilities, and diagnoses. Within this domain, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists play integral roles in assisting patients to:
- Facilitate recovery from injuries,
- Effectively manage various illnesses,
- Enhance overall quality of life,
- Foster independent living,
- Acquire adaptive strategies for leading a comfortable life,
- Restore abilities, enabling engagement in enjoyable activities,
- Address an array of additional therapeutic needs.
Rehab is a vital part of recovery and is our passion here at FeldCare.
In a recent conversation, Randi Peled, CEO of FeldCare, discussed the importance of contract therapy within the home health industry. She emphasized how increased accessibility to rehabilitation professionals significantly contributes to patient recovery. Additionally, she provided insights into her journey and motivations for entering the realm of home health.
Read on to find that interview.
What Does Contract Therapy Mean for the Home Health Industry?
An interview with Randi Peled, FeldCare Connects CEO
Question: What sparked your interest in the home health industry?
Answer: My academic background lies in occupational and environmental health science, with a specific emphasis on community programs. Following my postgraduate studies, I directed my professional efforts towards addressing community-based needs, engaging in diverse areas to support the broader community.
My inclination towards aiding the elderly population stems from a genuine affinity I have always held for older individuals. Growing up, I cherished my relationship with my grandparents and assumed caregiving responsibilities for my grandfather from an early age.
Subsequently, as my mother faced numerous health challenges, I identified shortcomings in the care provided. This realization fueled my dedication to enhancing care standards. As I honed my skills and deepened my interests, I ventured into occupational health within the broader community, eventually leading me to the field of home health.
Question: When did you start FeldCare Connects?
Answer: In 2013, I founded FeldCare Connects, prompted by my prior experience with home health agencies. Observing their predominant focus on recruiting nurses and caregivers, I saw an opportunity to contribute by creating a network of essential clinicians like PTs, OTs, and SLPs. Recognizing the benefits of assisting home health agencies in finding therapists amid their nurse and home care aide recruitment efforts, I identified and addressed a crucial need in the field.
Question: What challenges or gaps in care did you observe in the home health sector that motivated you to focus the company on contract therapy?
Answer: Before founding FeldCare Connects, I was involved in many healthcare settings. One such setting was a collaboration with a friend to establish a home health agency, wherein I took on a central role in managing the operational aspects. During this venture, I identified a pressing need for increased accessibility to PTs, OTs, and STs within the home health industry. While actively involved in the establishment of the home health agency (HHA), I encountered significant challenges in recruiting nurses, home care aides, and therapists.
Personally, I found my passion leaning more toward the rehabilitation sphere than the strictly medical domain, with a keen interest in enhancing functionality and rehab for the elder population. As I navigated the complexities of opening a home health agency for this demographic, my extensive involvement laid the groundwork for FeldCare Connects.
FeldCare was born out of that.
Home health agencies, as a rule, face challenges in acquiring a sufficient number of therapists to meet patient needs, often struggling to locate qualified professionals. Consequently, they frequently turn to individual clinicians/contractors or external groups for support. Juggling the necessity for nurses and caregivers, these agencies often grapple with limited resources to adequately recruit for all these roles. Consequently, clinicians/contractors are commonly outsourced.
Given my passion for helping the elderly community with their functionality, I recognized an opportunity to serve as a valuable resource for home health agencies, assisting them in enhancing the quality of patient care they deliver.
Question: How have your professional background and previous experience prepared you for building FeldCare?
Answer: Collaborating with numerous healthcare organizations over the years provided me with valuable experience in diverse settings and aided in the discovery of a niche that truly resonates with me.
I established FeldCare as a home health contract therapy service, as well as a resource for outpatient in-home therapy because I saw a need in both areas.
Engaging in the home health contract industry, coupled with obtaining certification and training as a home health administrator, afforded me insights into the inner workings of home health agencies. This experience illuminated areas that required additional support. While FeldCare primarily serves as a network connecting therapists with home health agencies, my comprehensive understanding of a home health agency’s overall operations and needs uniquely positions me to contribute to the broader spectrum of their requirements.
Question: You established FeldCare Connects for home health agencies and then later FeldCare Direct for outpatient in-home. Tell me how that came about.
Answer: FeldCare Direct was born out of changes that occurred in Medicare at the beginning of 2020 when PDGM went into effect. At that point, outpatient in-home became a necessity for recently discharged patients who still needed to receive therapy, but who were not considered homebound and yet could not get to a clinic.
Hence, the concierge outpatient, in-home service was provided to facilitate further patient rehab.
Now, with FeldCare Direct, freelance therapists can build their own caseload in outpatient in-home and not worry about billing.
Question: Can you elaborate on the significance of contract therapy in the home health industry and its role in improving patient outcomes?
Answer: Patients who have access to rehab have excellent outcomes.
Skilled OT, PT, and speech significantly increase the patient’s ability to maintain independence in their home and stay independent for as long as possible. Most often, patients do not want to be put into skilled nursing, and therapy helps them avoid that for much longer. It also reduces the burden on the family and other caregivers because patients are more mobile.
Improving rehab accessibility produces phenomenal outcomes for patients across the board.
Question: In your view, what are the key benefits that contract therapy brings to home health companies?
Answer: Home health agencies can entrust FeldCare with the task of credential collection, as we manage this process on their behalf. Our secure system, cliniCONNECTS, is compliant with HIPAA regulations and efficiently stores and sends reminders for all credentials, ensuring partner home health agencies remain in compliance with state and Medicare regulations.
By engaging contract therapists through FeldCare, home health agencies gain access to a significantly broader network of clinicians than they would by individually seeking therapists. FeldCare’s core objective is to establish an extensive network of clinicians, benefiting home health agencies and their patients.
Our business revolves around constructing and facilitating connections. This expansive network grants home health agencies, at the touch of a button, access to clinicians with diverse specialties. Within the FeldCare network, clinicians hold certifications in various areas, including orthopedics, neurology, PAM, LSVT BIG, cardiac care, aphasia, ALS, and vestibular rehabilitation, offering a wealth of skills to enhance patient care.
Question: In your view, what are the key benefits that outpatient in-home contract therapy brings to physicians, discharge planners, and other providers – as well as patients?
Answer: This concierge service brings wider access to clinicians who could continue to support the community at large. By being a biller for Medicare Part B, supplemental, and other insurances and credentialing the therapists to take these insurances, the therapist doesn’t have to worry about submitting claims, and the patient ultimately benefits from this.
Question: In your view, what are the key benefits that contract therapy brings to home health patients?
Answer: Home health patients derive benefits from contract therapy, as various referrers—such as home health agencies and hospice agencies—now have the ability to access a network of clinicians prepared to deliver services directly in the patient’s home.
Contract therapists contribute significantly to home health by increasing availability and providing access to therapists not directly affiliated with the home health agency. The broader network of contract therapists introduces a diverse set of skills, enriching the capabilities available to home health agencies and, ultimately, benefiting the patients.
Question: In your view, what are the key benefits that contract therapy brings to outpatient in-home patients?
Answer: Outpatient in-home patients benefit from contract therapy as referrers such as rehab centers, physicians, discharge planners, patients, and others gain the capability to connect them with a network of clinicians prepared to go directly to their homes.
Additionally, outpatient in-home therapy is covered under many insurances, including Medicare and private insurance, or patients have the option of self-pay.
This approach provides outpatient in-home patients with the flexibility to receive rehabilitation services in a convenient and familiar environment. Additionally, doctors can offer these patients greater access to occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) without being limited to a traditional brick-and-mortar setting.
Question: In your view, what are the primary advantages that contract therapy offers to clinicians engaged in contract work?
Answer: Contract therapy provides clinicians with several key benefits, including:
- Autonomy in Caseload Management:
Entrepreneurs in the clinical field can establish and manage their own caseloads, choosing to take on as many or as few cases as they desire.
- Supplemental Income Opportunities:
Clinicians often leverage contract therapy as a means to generate supplemental income, aiding them in achieving their financial objectives.
- Versatility in Healthcare Settings:
Contract work empowers clinicians to operate across various healthcare settings, allowing them to appreciate the advantages of skilled nursing, home health, and in-home caregiving. This diversity enhances their ability to provide more effective support to patients.
- Enhanced Work/Life Balance:
The independence afforded by contract therapy enables clinicians to craft a more balanced work/life dynamic that aligns with their personal and professional needs.
These benefits contribute to the overall appeal of contract therapy for clinicians seeking entrepreneurial opportunities and diverse professional experiences.
Question: How do you see the landscape of home health contract therapy evolving in the coming years, and what factors do you believe will drive these changes?
Answer: The outlook for contract therapy is excellent because of the Baby Boomer generation.
This large population is living longer due to increased healthcare accessibility. The need for care that supports greater mobility now and in the future will continue to grow as this and future generations age. As our population ages, people will want to remain as active as possible for as long as possible. They will need support for everyday activities such as cardio, ortho, improved speech/swallowing ability, and more.
Final Notes
As you can see, Randi predicts the need for greater access to contract rehab therapists for the next several decades as the Baby Boomer generation continues to grow older and maintain independent living.
If you want to learn more about how the FeldCare network works, get in touch! We would love to share more about how contract therapy benefits patients across the United States.
